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- Title
Heat Transport by Mesoscale Eddies in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas.
- Authors
Bashmachnikov, I. L.; Raj, R. P.; Golubkin, P.; Kozlov, I. E.
- Abstract
Ocean vortices are an important regional agent of water transport and cross‐frontal exchange. This study is a first attempt to compare statistics of 3D properties of mesoscale eddies over the Norwegian and Greenland Seas. Results suggest that eddies in the central Greenland Sea are less intense, have smaller vertical extent and much smaller heat anomalies in their cores compared to eddies in the Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea. In addition, these results suggest a relatively small inter‐basin eddy exchange. The large‐scale pattern of eddy translations shows that eddies cyclonically skirt the Norwegian‐Greenland region. There is also a regional cyclonic pattern in the Lofoten Basin with a consistent signature of eddy merger in the northern part of the basin. We confirm that eddies generated from the Norwegian Atlantic Slope Current (NwASC) have a significant effect on the amount of heat the NwASC brings to the Arctic. The heat lost from the NwASC between the Svinoy and Sorkapp sections associated with the westward eddy heat transport translates to 70 ± 23 TW, 90% of which occurs in the Lofoten Basin. This accounts to 35% of the heat advected by the NwASC across the Svinoy section and is comparable with the heat loss in the Barents Sea. Interannual variability of the heat flux due to a change in the number of generated eddies is relatively small (∼10 TW). Nevertheless, our estimates suggest that, by varying temperature of their cores, the generated eddies can effectively damp temperature anomalies that propagate north along the NwASC. Plain Language Summary: Mesoscale eddies in the ocean are large rotating water bodies with typical radii between 10 and 100 km and vertical extents of a few hundred meters. These eddies can be an important regional agent of water transport and cross‐frontal exchange. In this study we found that eddies in the Norwegian Sea have notably larger vertical extent, rotating velocity and intensity of thermohaline anomalies in their cores compared to those in the Greenland Sea. This suggests the predominantly local origin of eddies in each of the basins and a small inter‐basin exchange. All eddies move counterclockwise around the Norwegian‐Greenland region. Counterclockwise eddy translations are also registered in the Lofoten Basin. Propagating away from their generation regions (the continental margin of Lofoten Islands and western Spitsbergen) eddies merge and, on average, become bigger. In the Norwegian Sea, eddies extract about 70 TW of heat from the Norwegian Atlantic Slope Current, which reduces the northward heat transport of the current by one third and is comparable with the amount of heat extracted into the Barens. This eddy heat transport can effectively damp water temperature anomalies propagating along the current from the mid‐latitudes North Atlantic into the Arctic. Key Points: Eddies in the Greenland and Norwegian Seas show clear differences in intensity of thermohaline and dynamic anomalies of their coresThe westward eddy heat transport accounts for about one third of heat loss from the Norwegian Atlantic Slope Current (NwASC)Eddy heat flux can effectively damp temperature anomalies as they propagate north along the NwASC
- Subjects
ARCTIC regions; GREENLAND; MESOSCALE eddies; EDDY flux; ROTATIONAL motion (Rigid dynamics); HEAT losses; CONTINENTAL margins; EDDY viscosity
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, 2023, Vol 128, Issue 2, p1
- ISSN
2169-9275
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022JC018987